Fire-escape.



F. H. LOMBARI).

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION rum) JUNE 26,1908.

926,342. Patented Jul 1e 29,1909.

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F. H. LOMBARD.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26,1908.

92 ,342, Patented June 29,1909.

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FIRE ESCAPE.

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7 926 342 Patented June 29, 1909.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

FRANK H. LOMBARD, OF DONGOLA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO S. O. BOYD, OF DONGOLA ILLINOIS.

FIRE -ESCAPE T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that .I, FRANK II. LoMmnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dongola, in the county of Union, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F ire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to fire escapes and more particularly to that class which are suspended from the wall of the building in connection with which they are used and it is the object of my invention, primarily, to provide an escape of this class which when not in use, may be suspended to one side of the window from which it is to lead in case of fire and with its lower end above the level of the ground and which may be readily moved to position beneath the window and supported at its lower end in proper posi tion to permit of descent of the residents of the building.

The escape embodied in my invention is in the form of a chute down which the residents of the building may slide in case of fire and I preferably form the chute with sides and a bottom the upper edges of the sides being over turned to afford hand rails or grips by grasping which the person using the escape may regulate the speed of their descent.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View in elevation of a building showing my fire escape applied thereto, the escape being shown in normal position in full lines and in operative position in dotted lines, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the escape showing its operative position in full lines and normal position in dotted lines, Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the escape, Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a slight modification of the invention, and, Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the chute embodied in the two forms of the invention. Figs. 6 and '7 are, respectively, a front and a side elevation of a further modification of the invention.

In the drawings, there is shown the wall of a building indicated by the reference character A and a window which opens through the said wall and is indicated by the refer- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 26, 1908.

Patented June 29, 1909.

Serial No. 440,530.

once character 13 the sill of the window frame being indicated by the character C.

Supported from the wall A in spaced relation with respect thereto by means of suitable brackets 10, which may or may not be integral, is a track, one portion of which, indicated by the numeral 11, extends directly beneath the window sill O and substantially the length thereof, the track being extended upwardly at an angle, as at 12, from this portion 11 and thence horizontally as at 13, the portion 13 of the track being of course located in a plane above that occupied by the portion 11 of the said track.

The escape proper embodied in my invention is preferably formed of a single length of sheet material such as copper which is worked or stamped to form a bottom or slide let and sides 15 which, in conjunction with the bottom, form or constitute a chute, the upper edges of the said sides being over turned as indicated by the numeral 16, and clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so as to afford a hand hold at each side of the chute which may be grasped by the person using the escape whereby they may regulate the speed of their descent. At its upper edge, the bottom 14lof the chute is formed with two integral hooks 17 which are engaged with the track heretofore mentioned, the chute being suspended normally from the portion 13 of the track and being slidable down the inclined portion 12 thereof and into position to be suspended from the portion 11. lVhen the chute is suspended from the portion 13 of the track, it is raised a distance equal to that between the planes of the portions 11 and 13, but when the chute is slid upon the track so as to hang from the portion 11, it is lowered the same distance, and in order to support the chute in inclined position I provide adjacent the lower end of the chute a foldable support.

The support mentioned above is in the form of a pair of legs or standards 19 which are pivoted at their upper ends to ears 20 secured upon the under side of the chute adjacent the lower end thereof and are connected adjacent their lower ends by means of a cross iece 21. hen the chute is slid to the position last stated, the support is lowered to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, so as to support the lower end of the chute above the surface of the ground and away from the wall of the building, thereby permitting the occupants of the building to slide down the chute, it being understood, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, that when the chute is in this position, itis directly beneath the window. hen the chute is in normal position or, in other words, not in use, the support is folded up, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In order to brace the chute, it being formed of sheet copper or other sheet metal, transversely-disposed straps 22 are riveted or otherwise secured to the under face of the bottom portion 15, said straps extending at their ends across the outer sur faces of the sides.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig. l of the drawings, the inclined track illustrated in the other figures is dispensed with and an ordinary vstraight track 23 is employed, there being, however, an extra pair of hooks 2% provided upon the under side of the chute so that the chute may be supported above the ground. In this form of the invention, the chute is identical with the one previously described except for the provision of the extra pair of hooks 24.

In the further modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the straight track s3 is disposed at right angles to the wall A, and has one end embedded therein and supported in any preferred manner. This form of the invention is designed for use primarily where one side of the building fronts on an alley, the chute being supported at all times in operative position by its hooks 17 and its standards or legs 19. In this form of the invention, the escape is always ready for use.

YV hat is claimed is:

l. A fire escape of the class described comprising a chute arranged to be suspended from the wall of a building, and a foldable support for the lower end of the chute.

2. A fire escape, comprising a track provided with wall-attaching devices, a chute suspended at its upper end from the track and movable along'the same, and a toldablc support carried by said chute at its lower end.

3. The combination with the wall of a building and a window therein, of a track secured to the wall in spaced relation thereto, said track extending directly beneath the sill of the window, thence upwardly at an angle to plane above that of the sill, and finally horizontally, and a chute suspended at its upper end normally from the last mentioned portion of the track, and movable along said track into position to han from that portion thereof beneath the window, said chute being arranged to hang directly from the track parallel with the wall when in its normal position, and to be swung outwardly from the wall when disposed below the window.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK H. LOMBARD. ."Vitnesses J. A. DILLOW,

Geo. W. OORYHANOWR. 

